Archive for August, 2013

Pengrowth Joins With ISN to Manage Contractor Safety

Aug. 26th, 2013

“Pengrowth has high expectations for safety, both internally and for our contractors. We use every tool at our disposal to ensure safe and sustainable conditions, and ISNetworld will be a valuable addition to our current system.” – Kevin MacDougal, Director Health, Safety, Environment & Regulatory Affairs Pengrowth Energy Corporation is a dividend-paying, intermediate Canadian producer of oil and natural gas, headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Pengrowth’s assets include the Swan Hills light oil, Cardium light oil and Lindbergh thermal bitumen projects.

First published in 2006, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) B31Q Pipeline Personnel Qualification Standard outlines the requirements for the development and implementation of a Pipeline Personnel Qualification Program. The goal for implementing B31Q is to minimize pipeline failures caused by human error.

Regulation Battles: States Square Off Against the Federal Government Over Economic Benefit of Fracking

Aug. 13th, 2013

According to Advanced Resources International(ARI), the United States holds the largest amount of recoverable shale gas reserves in the world. Most experts agree that the most effective way to reach these untapped shale gas reserves is through a method known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”. Fracking, used in nine out of 10 natural gas wells in the U.S., is a process where millions of gallons of water, chemicals, and sand are pumped underground at a very high pressure in order to fracture dense shale rocks that release oil and gas reserves.

Back in 2000, before the fracking boom, shale gas represented only one percent of U.S. natural gas production. With new technological advances and changes in state regulations, shale gas now constitutes about 40 percent of total U.S. natural gas production. Fracking regulation battles dominate national headlines as oil and gas industry representatives and environmental groups present opposing views on its economic and environmental impact.